This invention relates generally to remote control devices and associated systems and apparatus that enable interaction between a user and a variety of electronic equipment without requiring direct physical or electrical connection between the control device and the electronic equipment. More specifically, the invention relates to a system that relies upon visual detection of low-cost, disposable control objects, such as cards, leaflets and three-dimensional objects, to control interaction with an electronic program or programs. The disposable control objects may concurrently carry hard printed copy concerning information of interest to the user and possible benefit to others as well.
Systems are currently available for starting and stopping demonstration programs and other programs that operate various consumer electronic equipment such as televisions, videocassette reorders and the like. However, these existing systems generally have limited or no capability for permitting user interaction with the system or device being demonstrated. That is, electronic devices currently can be set up to run continuous demonstrations on an xe2x80x9cendless loopxe2x80x9d basis. Alternatively, operation of such programs can be initiated by mere manual operation of an electrical switch or push button, or, operation of a demonstration program can be initiated by proximity devices that sense the presence of an object such as a human body and respond by triggering the start of an cycle of electronic operation, but these existing systems do not provide for control or manipulation of the demonstration or program by the viewer/user. In the case of sales demonstrations, particularly, involvement of the viewer in the control and operating process is always desirable from the standpoint of enhancing consumer interest and creating the desire to purchase.
It is possible, using current knowledge, to involve a viewer in the control and operation of a demonstration cycle using existing remote control devices. A serious disadvantage of this approach is the cost and complexity of the remote controls and the frequency with which they are lost, damaged and misappropriated. Similarly, it is conceivable that the technology associated with radio frequency identification tags (RFID tags) might be applied to the control of electronic apparatus demonstrations, but the use of such technology would require more complex apparatus and would involve substantially greater expense than the present invention.
The apparatus of the disclosed electronic control system comprises a computerized visual detection unit having a processor and a visual sensor, of readily available and well-known type, and a simple, hand-held control object that serves as a remote controller. The visual detection unit has the capability of recognizing and locating features such as the shape and/or color and spatial orientation of the control object. That is, when the control object is held in a particular spatial orientation in front of the visual sensor, such as the lens of a video camera, the shape and/or alignment of the object is recognized to achieve a function such as program selection, and the position of the object is converted into grid coordinates to locate an actual or virtual cursor in a position corresponding to the grid coordinates. If the shape of the control object, alone, is relied upon to achieve a first function of the visual detection unit, the physical orientation of the shape of the control object, e.g. an xe2x80x9carrowxe2x80x9d pointing left, can also be recognized to cause the visual detection equipment to generate different specific signals for further controlling the program and/or positioning a xe2x80x9ccursorxe2x80x9d.
The control object has a distinctive, and preferably orientable shape (an arrow or an airplane are just two examples of such shapes), with a different, distinctive color associated with different side surfaces of the control object. In this regard, it should be noted that the control object can be either two, or three-dimensional depending upon the requirements of the system to which the invention is applied. For example, a two-dimensional object such as a card or leaflet may be in applications where creation of simple, planar control objects is justified. In applications requiring more complex control operations, folded leaflets may be used so as to take advantage of the greater number of xe2x80x9cside surfacesxe2x80x9d that may be obtained in a multi-leaf leaflet or xe2x80x9cbookletxe2x80x9d.
The control object also may be made three-dimensional in shape, for example, an inexpensive, molded plastic xe2x80x9cscepterxe2x80x9d having a three- or four-sided handle portion with a xe2x80x9ccrownxe2x80x9d shape at one end represents a readily orientable and recognizable control object having provision for different colors on the four sides of the handle portion. It will be appreciated by those having ordinary skill in this art, that the general form and overall shape of the control object may take many, many different configurations within the scope and meaning of this disclosure.
Holding the control object within the visual scanner field of the visual detection unit, permits a user/viewer to navigate through a demonstration program by xe2x80x9cpointingxe2x80x9d the object in a particular direction to change the location of a cursor and then displaying the different color of another side of the object to trigger a reaction in much the same manner as the xe2x80x9cclickxe2x80x9d of a computer-control xe2x80x9cmousexe2x80x9d.
Although cards, leaflets and a xe2x80x9cscepterxe2x80x9d having two to four sides have been mentioned as possible control objects, by way of illustration only, it will be obvious to those having ordinary skill in this art that planar and/or three-dimensional objects having a wide variety of shapes and dimensional configurations incorporating multiple sides having different colors available on different sides, may be used if desired to expand the number of xe2x80x9cclicksxe2x80x9d and control options available to a user.
In accordance with this invention, the card or leaflet or other object that serves as the remote control object incorporates no active electronic components whatsoever. Accordingly, the cost of the remote control device of this invention need be no more than the ordinary low cost of a disposable leaflet or business card. The cost of the commercially available visual detection equipment, whatever it may be, is fixed for a specific application, and is incurred only once, since such equipment may be firmly secured and/or hidden to protect against damage and loss. Any number of different or identical control objects may be used to operate the demonstration unit in conjunction with a single set of visual detection equipment, without in any way degrading the quality or effectiveness of each user""s control.
The system and apparatus of the present invention provides a convenient and inexpensive approach to interactive control of programmed electronic systems, while at the same time eliminating the requirement for complex and expensive remote control devices that are all too frequently lost, damaged or misappropriated. Further, the present invention offers the advantage of a remote control apparatus incorporating a control object of such low cost that it can be considered disposable. The control object of this invention also has the advantage of being usable, easily, in the manner of a disposable xe2x80x9cflyerxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9chandoutxe2x80x9d bearing printed xe2x80x9chard copyxe2x80x9d that can serve as advertising and/or as a printed form for purchasing or ordering related goods and services.
Exposing a uniquely shaped and colored control object, such as a card or leaflet or a three-dimensional figure, to a visual detection unit, in a particular spatial orientation, and with one of two or more particularly-colored sides exposed, causes the detection unit to react in a particular way, that is, to produce desired, specific electronic signals, for example to select a particular program and to control the movement of a cursor on a video screen, for example. When a differently colored side surface of the control object is exposed to the visual detector, the change in color is regarded as a xe2x80x9cselectionxe2x80x9d of the item associated with the position of the cursor at the time of the color change.
If desired, the visual detection equipment can be set up to recognize various functions associated with different colors or ranges of colors. One group of colors may be associated with the selection and control of one particular program, while another range may be associated with selection and control of a different program, for example. Or, control objects having a range of different shapes may be used with each shape representing a different program and different colors effecting the same or different control functions within each program.
Response of the visual detection equipment to the spatial orientation of the control object can be made to depend upon both the alignment and the position of the control object. In this regard, alignment refers to the angular alignment of the axes of the object relative to a theoretical pair of intersecting coordinate axes, while the position of the object refers to the grid coordinates of the object""s position relative to a coordinate grid tied to either the same or a different pair of theoretical coordinate axes. For the purposes of facilitating detection of the spatial orientation of the control object, the object preferably is provided with a unique shape having at least two clearly distinguishable ends, for example.
These and other features and advantages of this invention will be made more apparent to those having skill in this art by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: